2007/05/23 by J. F. Amsbaugh, J. M. Anaya, J. Anaya +89
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Detector #Neutrino #Neutrino Physics Research #Neutrino detector #Neutrino oscillation #Neutron #Nuclear physics #Observatory #Optics #Physics #Proportional counter #Solar neutrino #nucl-ex
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.nima.2007.05.321
published as Nucl.Instrum.Meth.A579:1054-1080,2007 · 32 pages, 18 figures, 6 tables
arxiv created 2007/05/23 · openalex publication_date 2007/06/08 · arxiv updated 2016/08/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
An array of Neutral-Current Detectors (NCDs) has been built in order to make a unique measurement of the total active flux of solar neutrinos in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO). Data in the third phase of the SNO experiment were collected between November 2004 and November 2006, after the NCD array was added to improve the neutral-current sensitivity of the SNO detector. This array consisted of 36 strings of proportional counters filled with a mixture of 3He and CF4 gas capable of detecting the neutrons liberated by the neutrino-deuteron neutral current reaction in the D2O, and four strings filled with a mixture of 4He and CF4 gas for background measurements. The proportional counter diameter is 5 cm. The total deployed array length was 398 m. The SNO NCD array is the lowest-radioactivity large array of proportional counters ever produced. This article describes the design, construction, deployment, and characterization of the NCD array, discusses the electronics and data acquisition system, and considers event signatures and backgrounds.